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Ranbaxy to buy RPG (Aventis)

NEW DELHI DEC. 13. Ranbaxy Laboratories, India's largest pharmaceutical company, announced today that the company has signed an agreement to buy RPG (Aventis) SA along with its fully owned subsidiary, OPIH SARL, in France. The financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed. The sale is subject to legal process of consultation with employee representatives, says a release.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2004, subject to requisite approvals.

The sale of RPG (Aventis) in France (the only Aventis generic business) reflects commitment of Aventis to focus on its core strategic activities.

Ranbaxy ranks among the world's leading generic companies and offers real opportunities for RPG (Aventis) to complement its range of products and secure development resources in a rapidly developing market.

RPG (Aventis) was ranked fifth in the French generic market with sales of euro 44 million for the year ended December 2002. A wide-ranging pipeline of 52 molecules with 18 out of the 20 best selling molecules represent the company's strong product portfolio.

The major therapeutic areas of the company include cardiovasculars, anti-infectives, gastro-intestinals, rheumatoid/non-steroidal anti Inflammatory drugs, neurology and analgesics.

Commenting on the announcement, D. S. Brar, CEO & Managing Director, Ranbaxy, said, "France is strategic to our European expansion plans. The acquisition of RPG (Aventis) will be an important move for Ranbaxy as it would place us amongst the top generic companies in the French market".

Ranbaxy Laboratories manufactures and markets branded generic pharmaceuticals and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients. Ranbaxy's continued focus on R&D has resulted in several approvals in developed markets and significant progress in New Drug Discovery Research.

Ranbaxy's foray into Novel Drug Delivery Systems has led to proprietary `platform technologies' resulting in a number of products under development.

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